In a Nutshell Something as unexpected as a talking almond could be just what you need to catch the reader's eye.

Is it too fanciful to have products "talk" in printadvertising? Will prospects take it seriously when you showdialogue balloons coming from component parts or, in the case shownhere, from food pieces? The answers are, it is neither too fancifulnor taken less seriously. Giving human qualities to inanimateobjects-otherwise known as anthropomorphism-offersfresh relief from ordinary advertising. And it opens up lots ofinteresting promotional possibilities that might not otherwise getattention.

In the ad shown here, produced for the Almond Board ofCalifornia, an industry trade group, a couple of nuts speak outabout their nutritional benefits. The first thing that grabs you isthe visual: little white copy balloons popping out of the brownbackground of nuts. You can't help but notice them asyou're flipping through the periodical. That's a hugehurdle to overcome, because up to 70 percent of ads are notvisually arresting enough to stop the reader.

The second grabber is what the nuts are saying. One says,"Eating a handful of us a day can help lowercholesterol." The other adds, "Sounds nutty, but it'strue." Well, no, it doesn't sound nutty, but we'llpermit the copywriter a pun. The next thing you may notice is thebig headline above: "Here's some good news about almondsyou can really take to heart." This is a solid headlinebecause it piques your curiosity, even though you probably read thecopy balloons first. The paragraph copy at the bottom of the adalmost doesn't matter because all you really need to know is inthe headline and balloons.